Certain properties of gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate) make it very popular for use in making industrial and building products; especially gypsum board. It is a plentiful and generally inexpensive raw material which, through a process of dehydration and rehydration, can be cast, molded or otherwise formed to useful shapes. The base material from which gypsum board is manufactured is the hemihydrate form of calcium sulfate (gypsum), commonly termed stucco, which is produced by the heat conversion of the dihydrate from which the water phase has been removed.
In the making of gypsum board, the gypsum slurry must flow onto a paper substrate. In a continuous process, the slurry/substrate combination is then sized by passing this combination between rollers. Simultaneous with this sizing step, a paper bathing is positioned over the sized gypsum slurry. Accordingly, the gypsum slurry must possess sufficient fluidity so that a properly sized gypsum board can be made.
It is also important to the manufacture of gypsum board, that the gypsum slurry be capable of being foamed to a limited extent. Foamability refers to this ability to be foamed. When the gypsum slurry and paper substrate are passed through the sizing rollers, a certain amount of the gypsum slurry must back flow and accumulate in the rollers nip so that a steady flow of gypsum is delivered to the sizing rollers.
Because of the continuous nature of a gypsum board manufacturing process wherein the gypsum slurry flows onto a substrate which then passes through sizing rollers, the extent to which the gypsum slurry flows after it is sized is critical to maintaining the finished product dimensions of the gypsum board. The time at which the gypsum slurry ceases its flow is referred to as the pre-set time. The set time of the gypsum slurry is also an important property. The set time refers to the amount of time it takes the gypsum slurry to be dried, under heat, to the finished, solid gypsum board.
Gypsum board absorbs water, which reduces the strength of the wallboard. Prior art products, like ordinary gypsum board, gypsum tile, gypsum block, gypsum casts, and the like have relatively little resistance to water. When ordinary gypsum board, for example, is immersed in water, the board quickly absorbs a considerable amount of water, and loses a great deal of its strength. Actual tests have demonstrated that when a 2 inch by 4 inch cylinder of gypsum board core material was immersed in water at about 70° F., the cylinder showed a water absorption of 36% after immersion for 40 minutes.
The gypsum wood fiber (GWF) product differs from conventional gypsum wallboard products in that the GWF incorporates into the established slurry both gypsum and wood fibers. For example, in addition to lumber, particleboard, fiberboard, waferboard, plywood, recycled pulp and paper, and “hard” board (high density fiberboard) are some of the forms of processed lignocellulosic material products used in the building industry. Such materials have better tensile and flexural strength than gypsum. However, they are also generally higher in cost, have poor fire resistance and are frequently susceptible to swelling or warping when exposed to moisture. Therefore, affordable means to improve upon these use limiting properties of building products made from cellulosic material are desired.
Previous attempts to combine the favorable properties of gypsum and cellulosic fibers, particularly wood fibers, have had very limited success. Attempts to add cellulosic fibers, (or other fibers for that matter), to gypsum plaster and/or plasterboard core have generally produced little or no strength enhancement because of the heretofore inability to achieve any significant bond between the fibers and the gypsum. U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,328,178; 4,239,716; 4,392,896 and 4,645,548 disclose recent examples where wood fibers or other natural fibers were mixed into a stucco (calcium sulfate hemihydrate) slurry to serve as reinforcers for a rehydrated gypsum board or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,163, teaches a process in which raw or uncalcined gypsum is finely ground and wet mixed with 5-10% paper pulp. The mash is partially dewatered, formed into a cake and further dewatered by pressure rolls until the water/solids ratio is less than 0.4. The cake is cut into green boards, which, after being trimmed and cut, are stacked between double steel plates and put into an autoclave. The temperature in the autoclave is raised to about 140° C. to convert the gypsum to calcium sulfate alpha hemihydrate. During the subsequent incremental cooling of the vessel boards, the hemihydrate rehydrates back to dihydrate (gypsum) and gives the boards integrity. The boards are then dried and finished as necessary.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,677 to Baig describes a composite material made from gypsum and host particles of a reinforcing material, such as lignocellulose fibers. The composite material is produced by mixing gypsum and host particles of a stronger substance; such as wood fibers, in a dilute aqueous slurry. The slurry is heated in an autoclave, preferably under pressure, to convert the gypsum to calcium sulfate alpha hemihydrate. The hot, converted slurry is discharged through a headbox onto a continuous felting conveyor of the type used in paper making operations, where the slurry is dewatered to remove as much uncombined water as possible before dehydrating the hemihydrate back to gypsum. The resulting material is a homogeneous mass comprising gypsum crystals physically interlocked with the discrete host particles. The resulting mat is then dried in heated convection or forced air drying ovens, and the dried board is cut to the desired dimensions. Baig teaches the addition of crystal modifiers to the slurry, but does not teach the addition of any additive to improve the water resistance of the final product.
These prior art products, like ordinary gypsum wallboard, gypsum tile, gypsum block, gypsum casts, and the like have relatively little resistance to water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,596 to Song teaches adding a wax emulsion containing a combination of a paraffinic hydrocarbon, montan wax, polyvinyl alcohol, water and emulsifiers to a hot slurry containing ground gypsum and wood fiber. Emulsifiers include nonionic and cationic surfactants. While still hot, the slurry is discharged through a headbox onto a continuous felting conveyor, such as the type used in paper making operations, to form a fetter cake and remove as much uncombined water as possible. Song does not teach an emulsion containing the novel combination of waxes, an alkyl phenol, at least one surfactant, polynaphthalenesulfonic acid, and an alkali metal hydroxide.